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Michael Hampshire
12,206 PointsGoing to school for software development, but want to make games?
Hello treehouse friends,
I'm just looking for some advice because I'm trying to figure out which track or which way I want to go. I'm currently going to school for my Bachelors in software development and I graduate in April 2017. From being in school full time, working full time and being a father full time, I'm trying to decide where I should put my focus.
While in school, I found out about game development and have been using Unreal Engine and Unity and I found that I really enjoy creating games. But my problem is that I feel that I need to focus more on programming and creating programs or web development so I can land a job when I graduate and pay bills and the college loan that I will have when I graduate. I keep starting the programming courses like Java and C#, and the web development courses and I recently started the game development course. But again, I'm trying to figure out where I should put my focus, on programming and web development or creating games? I enjoy them both, but I feel that I need to just focus on one. I was thinking about focusing on programming/web development, landing a job, and then focus more on game development.
Has anyone ever had a problem like this or felt this way? Just looking for some advice so I can get out of this situation.
Thank you all,
Mike
1 Answer
Damien Watson
27,419 PointsHi Michael,
I best describe myself as a designer who can program in 20 languages. This might be a bit misleading as I 'have' programmed in 20 languages, but no one really uses languages like basic and lingo any more. I graduated as a designer in Computer Aided Art and am self taught in development (16 years Front End experience). I also have a passion for making games and currently have been using Unity for dev work in C#. Having a background in Javascript, HTML & CSS has given me a great foundation in scripting, though I didn't come across Object Oriented Programming (OOP) until I was getting down with Action Script 3 (2009).
I think you're on the right track with looking at landing a Web Dev job as that is your training, sticking with it for a number of years to get experience is always good, plus the monetary side. I assume that once you move from Studying/Working full time to just Working full time, you should have a little time here and there to skill up on the game side of things. I would though, choose one Game platform and get to know it really well. I use Unity, but I have heard that Unreal is also pretty damn good so it will come down to what gels with you. Similarly with C# and Java, given time restraints you might want to stick to the language of your chosen platform/job. If your study is for Back End rather than Front End, then you may be already studying C# (.Net) and Java in the process, so thats your call.
I'm a bit of a freak so I'll learn as much and be as diverse as I can, I also do 3D modelling and animation, iOS (mainly) and Android development which helps. The main thing is I work on my own projects out of hours which helps me up-skill and actually helps with my day job as well. It's a tough call, and you already sound very busy but stick in there, if you're passionate you'll make it.
All the best, :Damien